Art of Lady T

The Summoning Flame

2011-12-09T08:56:00.002+01:00

Ullo! Not updated in ages, terrible! I've been kept busy at my new job and freelance, but I promise more updates in the new year. This is the summoning flame, a spell to wake creatures of the forest :)

As for games,I've been playing near enough everything! All except the mighty Skyrim, which I have reserved January for :P
Cheers!

Leo

2011-10-27T07:02:00.003+02:00

Ullo! Teenage Mutant *Hero* Turtles, as the song went in the UK. Here's Leonardo, swords aflame, just cos...he seems confused too! (More just playing around drawing in Flash).

Batman, Arkham City is a lot of fun :D I want to do every side quest, is painful to ignore them! Then Uncharted 3 next week!!
Bai!

The cat in the tree

2011-10-20T08:40:00.003+02:00

Evening image. A friend of mine was getting 2 cats tonight, which made me think of cats, which made me think of Superman the Movie where Superman lifts a cat down from a tree, which made me think of superheroes, which made me think of super cats, which led to a monster cat....which led to this ;)

Started on Arkham City! Not very far in - am already hooked on doing side quests. Will progress no further till I do them all - precisely why I can never play World of Warcraft!
Bai!

Final Fantasy IX!

2011-10-12T08:07:00.003+02:00

Ullo! Some Final Fantasy IX artwork for a possible fanzine (plus I haven't drawn fanart in aaaages!). I remember this game coming out whilst I was working at Electronics Boutique, so was able to get the game *gasp* a day early! Steiner was by far my favourite, and I loved how there was a clanking sound with every step he took, his armour rattling and jangling. Vivi is not impressed.

I've started playing Space Marine - love the run animation. I can;t help but find them cute, with those stubby legs and rounded armour :D And all the Orks are Cockney, which makes me laugh, as they sound like my mates back home!
Bai!

Windy!

2011-10-07T09:14:00.002+02:00

Greetings! It's been awhile, but much has been a-happening! The seasons are changing here in Vancouver - autumn approaches, the leaves change colour, and then they blow around everywhere. The fluff below is not amused.

I am now working at East Side Games in Gastown, a social gaming company :) It's a lot of fun, am highly enjoying it there so far!
Gears of War 3 came and went (oh how I love Horde mode!), Shadow of the Colossus HD is getting a good play, and we prepare for the onslaught of games coming this way!
Bai for now!

Hipster dinosaurs

2011-09-21T07:51:00.002+02:00

Ullo! I love visiting cafes in Vancouver, and see many of the same types in them. So here they are....in dinosaur form (also messing around with Flash!):

Gears of War 3 out today! I've always liked Baird and Cole, and their first level together actually had me laughing :) A few 'jokingly sexist' comments in the banter though, not so impressed with that... Need to do co-op with my sister!
Bai!

Interior practice

2011-09-14T19:13:00.003+02:00

Ullo! Felt the need to practice some interiors, especially as some freelance work now wants it (good timing!). No particular setting, just not my usual mountains ;) They were all pretty quick images, am trying to get faster!
In the first pic, I imagine the guy doesn't get out much, but is devoted to keeping alive his 2 plants.

Workers keeping watch of the Fanta machines (nah kidding!).

This pic originally had a floor, but it felt more interesting to take it all away. I think this guy's lost.

\o/

Child of Eden is finished, ready to start Space Marine. And if I can't get ahold of that, it'll be Gears of War 3 next week. 4 player co op!!

First ever Flash animations!

2011-09-11T22:24:00.003+02:00

Hey all! Like my sister Asti, I've been practising a little in Flash! Here's my first (in a loooooong time) simple animations, just trying to get my head around it all again:

They *will* get better! So, I started (and have nearly finished) Child of Eden - what a gorgeous game! The colours are just so bright! Love how the controller vibrates in time with the music, is excellent :) Replaying through levels over and over to open up new ones not so much.
Bai for now!

K Naut's daily wardrobe

2011-09-07T07:59:00.002+02:00

Ullo! Working on some more vector style art - K Naut and the layers he puts on to start the day!

I find Flash an absolute nightmare to use, even for drawing. Yes yes, I know you can blow up an image to ridiculous size and not lose quality, but when do you need to do that for iPhone games?? Can anyone enlighten me? Photoshop is far easier to use, and in general a much simpler program. *End rant*
I should properly start Child of Eden, but when the weather's so nice outside, it's hard :)
Bai for now!

Very Angry Birds

2011-09-06T04:32:00.002+02:00

Ullo! Not sure why I drew this, but these are the Very Angry Birds!

Also playing around with vectoring here one evening:

My twin sister, Astrid and I were featured on Kotaku's main page today, which was nice :) All oooooooold Crysis 2 work, makes me cringe to look at it, but whacha gonna do!

http://kotaku.com/5837321/sisterthis-storyboard-artist-has-a-twin-sister/

Also, I finished Castlevania - Lord of Shadows, at last! Bizarre ending, not sure what to make of it - is there gonna be a sequel?
Bai for now!

Speedies

2011-09-02T20:55:00.002+02:00

Ullo! 2 speedy pics for this update. The samurai lion - will he destroy the last flower?

And a blorange waterfall!

I haven't touched Castlevania in a week. Why? It's just got so tough, so frustrating :/
I have a new photo blog for random stuff I see around Vancouver on my day to day life, so here it is:

http://ladytvancouver.blogspot.com/

Nothing spectacular, is more for my mum ;)
Cheers!

Emoticon ghosts

2011-08-28T20:57:00.002+02:00

Ullo! These are the emoticon ghosts! I was originally drawing an environment with some ghosts (which I still plan on doing), and somehow these figures came from it :)

Castlevania: Lord of Shadows is soooooooo hard! And the checkpoint placement *tugs at hair*. I should be playing Deus Ex right now, but I'm trying to do catch up, which I may in fact be doing forever ;)
Cheers!

K Naut Triumphant!

2011-08-26T07:06:00.002+02:00

Ullo! Though it was a long and tiring battle, K Naut came out on top, the serpent defeated, and all in time for an afternoon coffee :)

Need some new shows to watch. Am caught up on the crazy True Blood, tried an episode of Psychoville, but am not sure if it's too disturbing for me ;)
Cheers!

Troll dreams

2011-08-23T19:52:00.003+02:00

Heya! This pic is inspired by my recent dream activity in Vancouver - I could never recall them at all in Germany, but here nearly every night!

Still playing through Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - damn that game is hard!! Frustratingly hard, screaming at the TV hard. Or maybe I'm playing it wrong, ahem ;) The art is gorgeous though, the mood, tone, setting, music, love it. Saw Conan the Barbarian on the weekend, was unimpressed. You know when it's going bad when you look at your watch and there's still 45 minutes to go!
Bai for now!

Golf!

2011-08-20T06:24:00.003+02:00

Ullo! Felt the need to use some of my reference taken from on holiday down in Devon (in England) and this is the resulting picture!

"OUCH!" Am just about to start playing the latest Castlevania game, wish me luck! Also, I tried bubble tea (strawberry) for the first time ever tonight....and I hated it :( So absolutely artificial, and those pearls at the bottom, YUCK. I feel like I'm really missing out here, seems like everyone loves it....Guh.
Cheers!

iPad/iPhone work!

2011-08-17T21:54:00.004+02:00

Heya! It's been awhile! Was working at Compass Engine on the following games :) I have permission to show some of the art from them, so here goes (bearing in mind we had 2 weeks for all of it!):

Splash screens:

Assets:

Tiled levels:

Background image:

Game over:

Icons:

Visited England for just over a week - really miss my family and friends :/ When are transporters going to be invented? As I am pretty scared of flying (and there was turbulence!!). Currently playing Ghost Trick on the DS, but what with the big price drop of the 3DS, I'm soooooo close to buying one! About to play Child of Eden, looks trippy :D
Cheers!

Eunaborb!

2011-07-24T08:15:00.004+02:00

Ullo! I've managed to squeeze in a little update! I was asked by the wonderfully creative Nick Yonge of Nyan Cat FLY! at KrangGAMES to do some promotional art for his new game, Eunaborb. It's still in the creative process, but you check out the music for the game, HERE (it's excellent!).
First we have the surreal image:

And action!

My first week at Compass Engine has been great! iPad development is a hell of a lotta fun! I may have found my true calling :D Great team, great times, loving Vancouver!
Cheers!

Cast of characters plus Crysis 2 sprites

2011-07-18T05:22:00.003+02:00

Hiya! Something a little different this time - felt like doing some sharp, clean work. All these little characters have appeared in mine of my sister Asti's work at various points over the years. Thought I'd have the young version and the adult of each character :)

Found these little sprites of 2 aliens from Crysis 2 I must have made at some point whilst still at Crytek (the Pinger and the Heavy) :)

I'm contracting onsite for the next 2 weeks at Compass Engine down in Gastown, should be fun! Oh and I saw the last Harry Potter - I was left tearful at quite a few scenes, thankfully it's dark in there ay? Haha!
Cheers!

Rock gang

2011-07-15T09:31:00.002+02:00

Ullo! Back to updating this blog again! This popped into my head whilst having a coffee in a cafe - no idea what it's about, but I had to draw it out ;)

Deeply excited to see the last Harry Potter film tomorrow!!!
Cheers!

Halo and LOTR, together at last!

2011-07-11T09:09:00.004+02:00

Ullo all! Wow, been a bit of awhile since my last update! Life has been kinda hectic since the big old move to Canada. I got to do some work on Halo Anniversary, which I'm super excited about, as I'm a HUGE Halo fan :D Look for it in stores in November *plug plug*. I also have done some artwork for Fantasy Flight Games for the Lord of the Rings card game. Hopefully I can show this artwork at some stage, as I'm quite proud of it :)

For now, here are my guardians of the cliff:

And a random Roman soldier :)

I was rather gutted at the Green Lantern movie, I had such high hopes! I actually felt myself cringing at points, no good :/ But this week it's the last Harry Potter movie! Will go along with my Slytherin scarf on despite the heat, cannot wait!
Cheers!

Coffee Cthulhu and the ill hill

2011-06-01T09:25:00.003+02:00

Ullo! Whilst sitting in a coffee shop on Saturday, I wondered what it would be like if they gave me my latte with a monster lurking inside, so here ya go!

Here's the sketches I did for it whilst in there (VERY simple :P)

And then an evening speedy! I kinda imagine this large rock/hill staggering around, and then collapsing to throw up.....and it's lava ;)

I seem to be thinking about coffee and food a lot recently! You can never have enough.
Cheers!

Sketches

2011-05-27T23:32:00.003+02:00

Ullo!
Just some quick sketches really. First is K Naut, who I haven't drawn in quite some time. A few people have remarked he looks quite a bit older here. I think maybe he's just annoyed, and is battling that with coffee ;)

Next is a viking chef. Always ready for fighting, but also cooking (he's still youngish, so has to stick on a false beard)!

I totally thought the new X Men film was out this weekend, was totally hyped for it... But no! How?! Why? ;)
Cheers!

Under the bridge

2011-05-26T09:08:00.002+02:00

Ullo!
Bit of a speedy this one. Had a walk around Stanley Park, and it got me inspired! Imagine you're walking along, and suddenly you see these ominous figures blocking the way. Do you go back, or push on? Reminds me of those old adventure books: 'Turn to page 52 if you approach the guard'!

Other than that, played some LA Noire - I get worked up into a sweat if my interrogation is going wrong, so much so that I'll restart the entire mission :P I'm sure it's not meant to be played this way.
Cheers!

3 Lions

2011-05-24T07:37:00.002+02:00

Ullo! Just playing around with 1 idea in 3 styles. I think I'd like a combo of the 1st and 2nd:

Loving Vancouver. So much amazing food here (hence I'm gymming nearly every day, haha!). Great being able to see movies when they actually come out, not a month or so down the line...And am about to start LA Noire! Everyone's raving about it - I hope it's a little something like the Phoenix Wright series (but more violent) ;D
Cheers!

Waterfall city speedy

2011-05-19T08:19:00.002+02:00

Ullo! Waterfall city speedy! This would be a pain in the arse to get around - luckily there are bridges.

Finished Portal 2.....great game! Except one third of it. I can't even really say as it's kinda spoilery and it's still too soon. But guh! Cool sequence right near the end!!
Cheers!

Confrontation

2011-05-15T21:14:00.003+02:00

Ullo! 2nd pic drawn in Vancouver :) 2 young boys pluck up the courage to confront the beast, which isn't as aggressive as the stories they were told...

Vancouver comic con today! HAVE to go see Nate Simpson who did the amaaazing Nonplayer!! Go check it out :)
http://natesonofsimp.deviantart.com/
Bai for now!

First pic in Vancouver!

2011-05-13T22:51:00.006+02:00

Hiya! Here's my first pic drawn in Vancouver :) Was inspired by the fantastic landscape here, especially heading towards Whistler:

The job I nearly had fell through at the last minute, so am currently seeking employment! If anyone knows of any concept/storyboard jobs going, please let me know :)
Well, at least my Cintiq arrived! Bike next. And I've started on Portal 2 - few things make me actually laugh out loud, but this game has :) And first film in the city was Thor - as good as Iron Man I'm saying, very enjoyable.
I'll sign out with GO CANUCKS! (Loving ice hockey!)

Crysis 2 taster

2011-04-26T16:52:00.004+02:00

Hey hey! I've finally been allowed to show a little of the work done I did for Crysis 2! I mainly did storyboards, and some concepts. It was done a few years ago so is looking a little old, but whacha gonna do. Here's a taster:

To view the rest, please check out my website page which has a load more on it:

http://www.artcastles.com/trudi/commerical.html

And in other news, I am moving to Vancouver this Thursday!!! It's a huge step, a really big challenge, but I am lookinging forward to it. I have nothing concrete there yet, but hey, if anyone's looking for a concept/storyboard artist, I'm more than able :D My twin sister stays in Germany at Crytek for now, but hopefully one day...!
Bye for now, see you in Vancouver! Tschussy Deutschland!

P.S. Gotta try and find time to play Portal 2, it's killing meeee!

Don't go chasing waterfalls!

2011-04-21T16:18:00.003+02:00

Ullo! Some environments here! I have a bit of a waterfall obsession, just think they're amazing. So in the first pic, we have a big waterfall god shrine, where people come to visit. A parent is taking their child for the first time here:

Next is the waterfall city, which overlooks the church in the distance. You can only visit it by flying, alas! It's a loud, but serene area.

And then a quick speedy taking elements from the above pic! Someone likened this to something out of Dragonball, so I guess we'll just leave it at that ;D

Also, my work on Pirates of New Horizons was finally revealed, which you can see by visiting the website! I did one more pic on it, a few behavioural sketches:

Am DESPERATE to play Portal 2. I must have been the only person replaying Portal 1 the day of release for its sequel. Hello 2007! Great game though :)
Cheers!

Tank and tiger

2011-04-17T10:25:00.004+02:00

Ullo! Another tank pic, this time with Fluffbot at the helm! It's his personal tank/buggy that gets him to school, and over to visit friends (he lives in a bit of a dangerous neighbourhood):

And a speedy drawn one night after a drink and dinner...

Am playing through Ace Attourney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth (bit of a mouthful!). I've actually been playing through this since christmas - these games always take awhile. Am a little disappointed actually, is a little too easy for these games, and I miss Phoenix Wright :( Other than that, looking forward to Portal 2! Will be needing a co op partner :)
Cheers!

Tank!

2011-04-12T21:57:00.007+02:00

Ullo! Thought I'd get more practice in drawing tanks, so here's my first effort (may do a colour version of it, if I have time):

Here's the thumbnails:

And on the weekend, did some 30 - 45 minute pics:

Other than that, more games! Replaying through Portal, and playing Sword and Sworcery on the iPad which is brilliant :D Love the mood and tone for it! And I can't stop watching Superman films...help!
Cheers!

Ork

2011-04-07T17:28:00.002+02:00

Ullo! Hope everyone's still enjoying Crysis 2, perhaps moved onto multiplayer? :D

Last Saturday I decided to venture forth inside a Games Workshop again and pick up a load of paints, which led to models, spray, books, etc... I painted armies a lot as an early teenager, and got the urge again :D So am painting some Ork Boyz (will post a photo when done!), and this pic beneath is based off of one of them. Orks were always my fave, like how they piece together all their technology :D

Here's a close up:

Was a lot of fun :D Spring (and summer!) are nearly here, just hoping the humidity stays away...
Cheers!

Pirates of New Horizons stuff

2011-04-01T12:40:00.007+02:00

Heya! Hope you've been playing Crysis 2 :D I just finished it (at home) last night, am proud at the final game and at the team! I and my sister have been working at Crytek for 4 years to the day, is amazing how time has flown, and how many wonderful people I've met.

More game stuff :) I've been working with an ex-Crytek collegue, now working on his new game, Pirates of New Horizons. It's really cool, check it out (still in production). This here is Hencworth, who will be the sidekick to the main character, giving handy hints and just keeping you company :)

He's still a bit of a WIP, there may be more changes yet, but I'm allowed to show these so far :) I did a rough character sheet to gauge an idea of what the team wanted first:

They made selections, and I did what you see on the left first. This picture made the team realise what they really wanted/needed, so the version on the right was next. His beard and eyes were changed to what you see above.

And a little more images for Takaro games, working out simple movement :)

All for now! Hope everyone's enjoying spring (which is officially here!). It's time to bare those pale legs and blind the world ;D
Cheers!

Blorange plus Crysis 2!

2011-03-22T21:55:00.003+01:00

Hiya!
Crysis 2 is out!!! I have been working on this game since the start, and am very proud to finally see it out in shops :) It's out on XBOX360, PS3 and PC, so there's no excuse not to grab it!

Here's a little side project I've been working on with an old colleague, now of Takaro Games. It's Blorange, the chameleon who can only change from blue to orange! Currently WIP, but I shall keep you updated for its final release (will be a puzzle game).

Nothing much else other than please check out Crysis 2 and let me know what you think! I can hopfully post some of my work from it here soon :)
Tschussy!

The fluffs

2011-03-18T23:06:00.002+01:00

Ullo!
Based on my 2 cats. Chalky (on the left) is a total wimp! His sister, Curry, is the tough one :D

Crysis 2 is nearly out, so exciting!! Hope everyone who plays it will enjoy, is very cool :D
Cheers!

Something very different

2011-03-13T15:38:00.004+01:00

Hey all! And now for something *completely* different! I needed to do some clean drawings, something kinda cute, and here it is!

Now that's out of my system, I can go back to some nasty monsters! Although in keeping with the dino theme, here's my new diplodocus tattoo:

I finished Killzone 3 yesterday, had some pretty epic scenes (like the giant mech, woah!). But gyaaaaah, the ending.............I take it there will be a 4th! Dislike having to wait years to find out what happens next, is cruel.
Cheers!

Beastie

2011-03-07T18:15:00.006+01:00

Ullo! I was having a mess around during the week, just drawing random shapes on paper with a marker. I turned the paper over, and brought out shapes/creatures from what I saw there. Then just spent yesterday doing a more detailed version of one of them :)

Here's some more of the other versions. Roughs on the left, more worked in on the right (just for your attention: the roughs have been flipped, as I turn the paper over to do the line version).

Nothing else exciting really. Playing through Killzone 3, enjoying the variation in this one (is everything on that planet evil??). Saw Rango and wasn't so struck on it, though the rest of the cinema was in hysterics...perhaps I'm broken??
Cheers!

The summoning sailor

2011-03-01T22:39:00.002+01:00

Heya! Just an evening mess around, collaging images, messing around with textures. This guy is a powerful sailor who has floated up and forgotten about his boat! He got a bit carried away praying for wind...

After breaking my back last year, I too gained a super power - I know hours before it rains, as my back really hurts! It's probably just air pressure, moistness in the air or some other dull reason, but look - I could join the X Men!

Crysis 2 is out this month at long last! Been years on that project, will be nice to see it finally come out (officially!).
Cheers!

Dinosaur at peace

2011-02-23T00:50:00.003+01:00

Ullo!
Felt in the mood to draw a slightly longer piece, so here it is! I hope to stumble across this one day (going through some weird forest obsession):

More and more Crysis 2 trailers coming out seemingly everyday, check out Gametrailers or any of your fave gaming sites :) Very exciting!! Am anxiously awaiting Friday for Killzone 3...though more like Monday, as I am having it shipped here from the UK, aww.
Cheers!

An interview featuring me, plus Crysis 2 trailer!

2011-02-21T16:49:00.003+01:00

Heya!
No art in this update (some coming soon!), but I wanted to show some videos instead :) The first 2 are for Crytek - the first is an interview my twin sister and I did for German channel RTL. I'm dubbed!! :D

http://www.rtl-hessen.de/videos.php?video=13227

2nd video is the Crysis 2 story trailer (very cool) where you can multiple scenes I and others worked on :)

Video Games | Crysis 2 | Dead Men Walking Story Trailer

Xbox 360 | PlayStation 3 | Nintendo Wii | PC Games

And other than that, I finished Dead Space 2, which was excellent! :D So I searched on the Youtube, and of course, there's a compilation video of all the death sequences :D (Beware spoilers for anyone who hasn't finished!).

Sunday Lunch

2011-02-13T18:04:00.002+01:00

Ullo! About 2 hours or so on this, just doodling, becoming more and more hungry :) Really wish I could stumble across this in a forest...

In other news, Crysis 2 was leaked online, oh no!! Hopefully the majority of people will still buy the game. Guh, these people have no shame...
Also, I finished Metal Gear Solid 4! Went out with a bit of a whimper, I gotta say. All the Shadow Moses stuff was excellent, brought a tear to my eye! But yeesh, the ending went on forever. Was hoping for something a little more dramatic/grander for Solid Snake. Now on to Dead Space 2!
Cheers!

Dino Rider!

2011-02-09T22:11:00.003+01:00

Ullo! Here's a lunch and after work pic. It's pretty rough, but I just *needed* to draw a dinosaur, I don't know why. Maybe I'll work more into it, but we shall see... That's a rough me sitting atop it, kinda my dream ride!

Nearly finished MGS4! Hahah am wearing young Snake mask all the time, I can't bear him to be old and dying :( Next is Dead Space 2, sitting impatiently in the pile, woo hoo!
Bai!

Windy Sunday and dreamy sketches

2011-02-06T20:32:00.002+01:00

Ullo! A Sunday 2 and a half hour drawing for ya :) Twas a windy but sunny day here, got me inspired. A man and his Triceratops admire the view.

On the plane to Vancouver (well first Chicago) a week ago, it was an early flight and everyone was asleep....except me of course. I turned to my partner Jasen, asleep by the window with the blind down (whhhhhy?), and decided to get some life drawing in. Then I got bored, and decided to draw what he might be dreaming about! And so here they are:

Dead Space 2 will hopefully arrive in the post tomorrow. End of the month Killzone 3. And now an evening of MGS4!
Bai!

Vancouver trip pic

2011-02-03T18:21:00.002+01:00

Ullo!
Just a 2 hour mess around last night. The colours are taken from a photo I took on a plane journey (messed around with of course!).

Have started back on reading the Dark Tower series of Stephen King's - I keep taking long breaks from it, is somehow tiring (don't ask!). Really cool series though, I wanna pick up the grpahic novels after!
Bai!

Out of hours fun!

2011-01-25T19:00:00.005+01:00

Ullo all! Exciting times! Crysis 2 will soon be out, and there's already some videos online for the multiplayer. There's a demo out right now in fact, check it out :)

Was having a mess around at lunchtime, here's what I came up with (huge mech/monster thingy buried in the sand):

Here's the rough made from textures:

And an hour after work pic (don't turn round!):

Original thumbnail:

Still playing through MGS4. Everyone seems intent on spoiling it though :( Am off on holiday a few days, so seeya soon!

New year, new art!

2011-01-18T18:42:00.006+01:00

Happy new everyone!! Ok I realise it's a little coming, but better late than never as 'they' say. I had a relaxing(ish) holiday, and am ready for 2011!
First is an evening pic based on something my sister called one of ours cats - a cat bomb. No idea what she meant by it, but here is my interpretation.

Next is some life drawing at Heathrow airport at arrivals. Everyone anxiously waiting for someone to arrive.

And then my response to hours of UK television resulted in.....this :s

I finished Dragon Quest IX!!! Around 55 hours, not bad :) Started and finished Enslaved (GORGEOUS game!), and have finally got round to starting Metal Gear Solid 4, a long time coming. No spoilers please, seriously ;D
Cheers!

Pet bot, John, and Crysis 2!

2010-12-16T12:37:00.002+01:00

Ullo! Trying to fit in some sketches before the christmas break! This here is a cat taking her robotic pet for a walk (I don't think she has many real friends). It was originally a boy holding it, but I didn't like how he was progressing.

Next was a lunch sketch of a mate of mine, John :) (I'd been browsing the Facebook).

And fiiiiiinally, here's one of the new Crysis 2 screenshots released! I designed the initial sketches and composition. Hopefully I'll get to post more in the next few months :)

Line art and Warface!

2010-12-13T20:20:00.002+01:00

Hiya! Busy times, hope everyone's enjoying the christmas build up :) I can't seem to find time to sit down and actually do a 'full' pic, so here are some line drawings.
This was a lunchtime drawings, of an English snake chav.

Still feeling christmassy, I drew this mutated Santa. After starting to colour it though, I realised it was a bit harsh, and felt sorry for Santa. (There may or may not be body parts in the bag).

Here's part of the colouring I did, and then stopped when I realised I was never going to finish it ;)

In other news: Here's Crytek's new game, Warface, which will be a free to play online FPS :) Asian market only for now, but here's hoping! I did some work on it, which maybe one day I can show.

Am working hard to finish Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood before returning to England, and am still battling with Dragon Quest IX (...level 38).
Tschussy!

Monday lunchish sketch

2010-12-06T18:59:00.004+01:00

Ullo!
A 20 minute sketch at lunch followed with some extra effort after work. Don't think I'll do anymore to this, was just messing around really :) The story to this is some guy was wandering through a cave when he stumbled upon some huge monster also off on a wander. Both figures are surprised!

Here's how the image started off (threw together some textures from my old demon gate pic):

In other news, I got my T Rex tattoo on the weekend!! Here is is, lovingly shot from the lovingly pretentious Hipstamatic app ;D I think that's it now....for life...though a Diplodocus idea has been planted...

Cheers!

Christmas 2010 card plus a tattoo!

2010-12-03T19:44:00.005+01:00

Ullo!
Bad me, not been updating enough. Tis the season to be busy! So, here is my 2010 christmas card! A fluff, drinking mulled wine, gluhwein, glogg, etc. *EDIT* I forgot the combined version I did with Asti! This will be amended on Monday when I'm back at work!!

Wanna know how this pic began? Here! It is a mystery:

And here is the original rough version of the card, which I scrapped as I just wasn't feeling it. :/

In other news, I got a tattoo! It's of my fave dinosaur, a Triceratops :) I plan on getting a T Rex next AND THAT'S IT.

Cheers all!

Pokemon: Muk

2010-11-23T14:45:00.011+01:00

Ullo!
CG Hub Creature Planets are doing a nice little theme on Pokemon, so I couldn't help but contribute (says the person who put in over 250 hours on Pokemon Blue). My favourite was always Lapras (so strong!), but I couldn't seem to get any nice designs. So I ended up going with Muk, who you see below. Muk was never a fave of mine, but I really had fun drawing it :)

And here's the roughs:

I started and finished Call of Duty: Black Ops over the weekend - nicht schlecht, though I preferred the Modern Warfare games (if only for Soap MacTavish!). Currently level 30 on Dragon Quest IX ;)
Cheers!

Expressions!

2010-11-18T10:42:00.005+01:00

Ullo!
Sorry for the lack of updates, am a bad artist! Felt the need to do some expressions studies, and what better than with a koala?? Just quick studies, done in an evening.

I got a Daily Deviation award on Deviantart! How exciting :D My page went crazy on there, I was very grateful for all the attention it received. Was for this pic:

http://trudsss.deviantart.com/#/d310qpo

I visited Amsterdam last weekend, ate a TON, and had a good time with friends :) Too many English tourists would be my one complaint...oh wait!

Still levelling like CRAZY in Dragon Quest IX (currently level 28). Found an area with 3 metal slimes stacked on top of one another, sooo much experience.......why is no one impressed? ;D About to start COD: Black Ops, looks good.
Cheers!

Alchemy

2010-11-09T18:36:00.004+01:00

Ullo!
After having my first ever try out of Alchemy (yes I am slow/get with the times/etc etc), it made me wanna do some facial studies. I def wanna do a series of them so first off is the usual, glum, pouty image which was done in about 45 minutes:

Followed by my first ever Alchemy pics! Can you tell which one I enjoyed the most? :P

Bai for now (still level 23 in Dragon Quest IX)!

Monday speedy

2010-11-08T23:29:00.002+01:00

Ullo!
A Monday after work speedy :) They're best friends!

Nothing else too exciting. Currently level 23 in Dragon Quest IX ;) Watching The Walking Dead - nice that it's not too close to the comic, but then when it deviates too far, is also annoying. So they can't win :P
Cheers!

Demon of hell (the usual)

2010-10-31T18:08:00.003+01:00

Ullo! So I did manage to finish the gate demon in time, and here it is!

This demon stares into the soul of the person who dares approach it. Some people are judged within seconds, others may stand there a good few hours as it decides. Once judged, the person is either successful (and steps through the mouth), or is immediately crushed between its pincers.

Thumbnails are here:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_xH8IZi8bYAs/TMYMQTsPFnI/AAAAAAAAAT4/gGfLaAu9QVk/s1600/gate_monster.jpg

Other than that, more Dragon Quest IX! And hopefully Vanquish, if I can swipe it from my sister.
Bai!

Demon thumbs

2010-10-26T01:00:00.002+02:00

Ullo!
I'm planning on entering a competition on CG Hub for some gates of hell demon thingy (the normal), so was doing some thumbnails tonight. These are the initial few, then I plan on playing around with these, but it's gone 1am and I have the gym at 7:30am -_-

I finished Dark Void!! The ending was pretty sad actually, and I dunno if they'll ever make a sequel... :/ Other than that, due to the cold, I'm spending more time indoors catching up on tv shows (Fringe, House) and knitting extremely cool scarves ;D
Bai!

Thumbnail creatures

2010-10-21T18:24:00.002+02:00

Ullo!
I felt in the mood for some weird thumbnails. So, I created a texture, and pulled out images/shapes I could see within it, and here they are:

Using this texture as I made as inspiration:

Still battling through Dragon Quest IX at the mo (level 15), and must finish Dark Void!!
Bai!

Fluff bot

2010-10-18T20:22:00.002+02:00

Ullo!
With all the Dark Void playing, I felt like drawing some sort of robot. This one is home to a fluffy creature though :D

And here is the original rough!

Kinda wish I'd have kept with the colour scheme. Grrr. Shall work closer to it next time.
Have now started playing Dragon Quest IX, let the crazy level grinding begin!
Bai!

Pirate cat speedy

2010-10-11T18:34:00.003+02:00

Ahoy!
Lunchtime speedy of my cat, Chalky!

I've finally made a start on Dark Void (think it's great!) and Dragon Quest IX. The latter is going to take up maaaany hours, I can tell.
Here's Curry refusing to watch Dark Void!

Tschuss!

The Real Totoro

2010-10-08T16:18:00.003+02:00

Ullo!
Was thinking of My Neighbour Totoro the other day, and felt the need to draw some fanart. Here is the result!

Old classic stories were actually pretty nasty, so I thought I'd add that twist to this lovely film ;D
The other pic is an extra addition to the one 2 updates below. It was pointed out by a co-worker that there's no focus, so here it is now (looks like Blanka).

Other than that, I finished Halo Reach! Quite a sad ending, and *SPOILERSSSS* the final shot of the actual Halo brought a tear to my eye! Makes me want to play the first game all over again... Next up is Dark Void!
Cheers!

Tuesday speedy

2010-09-30T10:39:00.005+02:00

Heya!
I forgot to put this up yesterday! It was my Tuesday lunchtime and afterwork speedy! Guh.

And the initial image:

Still playing Halo Reach. Just did a big vehicle section - one of the few game series where I actually enjoy those sections :)
Bye for now!

Dense city

2010-09-29T19:22:00.002+02:00

Ullo!
The dense city! When doing the signs late in the day, there was only one thought on my mind :D

Off for more Halo!!

Speedy marine plus Curry

2010-09-27T18:52:00.004+02:00

Hi all! A quick lunchtime and after work speedy. Gotta fit in my Halo Reach gaming!

And here's the original rough:

Here's me trying to play Halo Reach, and my cat Curry joining in on the action! Am loving the game, next will be co op :D

Cheers!

RUN/CHARGE!!

2010-09-22T18:38:00.005+02:00

New pic! Depending on whose point of view, it's either "RUN!!" or "CHARGE!!"

Made with help and suggestions from my wonderful co-worker Mihai at Crytek :)
My copy of Halo Reach arrived!! I plan on co-op with my sister, but FIRST I must experience it alone...
Cheers!

EDIT: Uploaded a newer version with suggestions from another coworker, Silver :)

Skull entrance - the happiest place on Earth!

2010-09-15T23:03:00.004+02:00

Hi all! In an updating mood :) First pic was done in just over 45 minutes, playing around with shapes really.

The second image is a wanderer in a slightly ominous room. Am undecided - which is better, the darker or lighter?

Have had a splitting headache/migraine for 3 days straight, yet somehow it's prompted me to do more free time drawings. It makes no sense!!
Cheers!

Evening speedy

2010-09-14T20:15:00.001+02:00

Ullo! Just an evening speedy!

Late night speedy

2010-09-05T16:25:00.002+02:00

Ullo!
Ok so I didn't do a vehicle yet, just a late night speedy, just messing around with brushes.

Now off to play the Alan Wake DLC!
Cheers!

Another environment!

2010-08-31T19:50:00.003+02:00

Hey all!
My quest for better environments continues! This here is something I would never usually draw, but is also the sort of thing an art director will ask for ;) (As mine did, as a free time task!). Definetely more work to be done, but it's definetely a start!

And the thumbs for your viewing pleasure ;)

NEXT: vehicles! ;D Any suggestions?

Dino man!

2010-08-30T21:40:00.003+02:00

Hullo! More pics :) First is a sort of dino guy concept, and the various layers of clothing he has to wear to deal with the harsh landscape he wanders.

More environments at a small scale! A proper one coming in the next update, that's taken more than an hour ;D

In other news, I finally saw Toy Story 3, and absolutely loved it. Certain points made me wanna cry *sniff*. Pixar know how to pull on the heart strings :)
Tschuss!

More!

2010-08-24T19:26:00.002+02:00

Ullo!
2 more environments drawn at this exact scale, around half hour or less on each.

I'm still playing through Alan Wake at the moment, it's pretty intense at times! The moment I see the wind pick up in the forest, I'm like ohhh noooo!! Can't stop collecting the coffee thermos, to the point that it almost ruins the game...
Bye for now!

Mix of stuff

2010-08-21T17:42:00.003+02:00

Hi all!
My back is finally on the mend :) I can properly sit at a desk again (my life is complete!). Have been doing some 1 hour or less studies recently, here are 2 of them, drawn at that exact scale with no zooming in (I might just start posting them every few days now) Thanks to Dennis Chan for getting me on to this practice!

Also been in a black and white outline mood, so here's another environment, minus the humans who have caused the destruction! I'm thinking this here is about 2 months with no humans living there.

Aaaand a cleaner, who would have to come and clean up the mess (the area is highly toxic):

The game I'm working on (Crysis 2) released some of the multiplayer footage! Have a gander :)

Video Games | Crysis 2 | GC 10: Hero's Journey Multiplayer Rooftops Gameplay

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

Bye!

K NAUUUUUT

2010-07-27T19:50:00.002+02:00

Ullo all!
Bit of a K NAUT fix going on at the moment, so some more sprites here:

And just a random drawing of K NAUT commanding soldiers in a battle (looks like it might be going wrong!). Maybe one day I'll colour it.

Other than that, am still healing. Who knew a broken back took so long to get over? ;) Catching up on lotsa games (Arkham Asylum, Puzzle Quest 2, Apollo Justice) as well as tv shows like Rome, Human Target, and anything else that looks interesting ;D
And orf to sunny Devon in England the end of this week to eat eat EAT!!! And sail ;) (maybe).
Cheers!

K NAUT sprites

2010-07-22T20:44:00.004+02:00

Ullo all!
Sorry for the lack of updates, I went and broke my back ;D And bruised some ribs. It involved jumping off a cliff into water, and let's leave it at that, heheh. Ok, so am back in a K NAUT mood again! Jesper drew me a pic of K NAUT to cheer me up, ad it got me inspired to do him as a sprite. It's been suggested he'd make a cool character for an iphone/XBOX Live game, so here's a mock up! I'd like to have a load of alternate sits, so the first version here is the initial suit, followed by an upgrade (there would be quite a few!).

I plan on having a whole sheet of his diff suits, weapons, enemies, etc. But this is the start, my first ever sprites :) Oh and an extra pic of K NAUT after a target:

For anyone who doesn't know K NAUT, here was a very basic animatic of him:

Cheers!

More Cthulhu!

2010-07-06T20:01:00.004+02:00

Ullo!
More on my Cthulhu entry at CGHub! I went with the idea of a guy fishing, ooh he catches something and uh oh, it's Cthulhu ;D I need some opinions on the colour versions, whether I should keep the outline there or not...

So which version?
And here's the original idea I was gonna go with, - plain ol Cthulhu popping outta the ground, destroying a city, blah. Wanted it to be a little different.

Bai for now!

Cthulhu fhtagn

2010-07-02T16:53:00.003+02:00

Ullo!
Am thinking of participating in the latest CGHub drawing jam, based on my fave elder god, Cthulhu! So I drew up some rough sketches here:

Deciding on which to go with, and then what to do with it ;D
Have a good weekend all!

The Hunter of Humans

2010-07-01T18:12:00.005+02:00

Ullo! First off, the website is finally up and running!! Visit it here: www.artcastles.com

It's shared with my twin sister, Asti :) Next, some free time designs! The alligator who likes hunting in his fave swamp (I'm thinking he hunts humans...)

And the rough (which I often prefer!)

Tshcussy!

Mech Wolverine!

2010-06-26T19:09:00.003+02:00

Ullo!
Back from the MADE event in Germany - had an excellent time, met lots of cool people, and learn a billion tips. Had some spare time recently, so quickly threw together a Wolverine mech ;D

Lotsa fun! Here's another Crysis 2 trailer - can see one of my scenes near the end, of the Met Life building collapsing!

Video Games | Crysis 2 | Salvage Central Station Trailer

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

New website coming!!

2010-06-16T10:41:00.005+02:00

Ullo!
Quick post to say I will have a personal website up online next week, at looooong last! :) Will come online when I get back from Berlin.

Tschussy!

EDIT:
Ok I couldn't update without a drawing!! So here is a creature family (the one on the right comes from a drawing from earlier this year).

Backgrounds

2010-06-14T09:55:00.003+02:00

Ullo all!
Just a little teaser for a side project I'm working on, some backgrounds plus the roughs (there will usually be a figure in them).

Am off to MADE in Berlin this week, very exciting :D Plus Berlin's a great city (...and they have Dunkin Donuts!).
Bai!

Halo-ish animatic

2010-05-28T17:17:00.003+02:00

Ullo!
My promised animatic! Bit of Halo going on here, fun to draw that style armour :) Just felt the need for some animatic action, free time (music from Halo 3).

Off to see The Prodigy tonight, they're here in Frankfurt! Hahaha it'll be entertaining if nothing else :)
Have a good weekend all!

EDIT: Here's the board!

'Deceptive Elegance'

2010-05-26T21:46:00.002+02:00

Ullo!
My entry for CGHub's latest Creature Planet challenge, 'Deceptive Elegance'. It's a lovey naked lady who entices guys; so hypnotised is he, he doesn't see what she's hiding behind/ON her back! I kinda wish I'd went for a more dramatic angle, but too late now. Here's the final and some thumbs.

Next up should be an animatic I'm working on! Oh oh, saw the ending of Lost....not sure what to make of it. But I do know I'd love to have some Lost marathons, watchng through it all again :D
Cheers!

The Cave of Eyes

2010-05-21T19:48:00.003+02:00

The blog title speaks for itself ;D Lunchtime speedy worked on a tiny bit more after work.

I've started on God of War 3 now; it's pretty violent, ay? Great fun :) The in game camera seems to have a life of its own, its own cinematic flair, as it creeps up behind you, then zooms out to show you some cool sight. And arghhhh last ever Lost this Sunday!!! I used to joke I couldn't die before Lost finished - does that mean I can on Monday? :S
Cheers!

Forest walk 2

2010-05-10T22:16:00.003+02:00

Ullo!
A forest walk. This began life from the extreme close up of a previous drawing, and I worked out the shapes from there :)

I just watched one of the saddest episodes of Lost ever! This show better have a good ending, or...orrr...we'll all feel like idiots ;) Ahh but it's been fun.
Bye!

CAT in mech

2010-05-07T11:24:00.004+02:00

Ullo!
This here is dedicated to my 2 lovely cats ;) The ginger one was always much bigger than the white, but due to a recent growth spurt, he's now much bigger than her. So this is the ginger one regaining her dominance...with a mech!

Beserk Electricity Generating Centaur!

2010-05-05T18:29:00.002+02:00

Ullo!
This here is my entry for the CG Hub Creature Planets 'Berserk Electricity Generating Centaur' (!) contest. Only had a day to do, as I didn't realise the deadline was so close. Was a great practice though, shall try and do more of them!
For the creature, I imagine that it actually gathers in electricity through its weapons as it prepares to attack. This poor little guy at the front really doesn't stand a chance ;)

Cheers!

Shark man!

2010-05-03T14:32:00.004+02:00

Ullo!
Just a speed drawing, trying to draw characters faster (well, EVERYTHING faster!). This here is a shark man whow has discovered fire and can't stop laughing ;)

Bai!

The shortest animatic in the world!

2010-04-27T18:29:00.004+02:00

Ullo!
Still working on my environments, must improve! More monsters soon, I promise :) So here I had the time, thought I'd make into a tiiiiiiiiiiny little animatic, just a pan really (with the vines on separate layers) seen after the pic. Will he go left or right??

And just another first person study, this time along the Main river here in Frankfurt :)

Playing Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia on my DS; that game is HARD! Or am I bad? Either way, it's great :D
Seeya!

Monster and stuff

2010-04-19T21:30:00.003+02:00

Ullo!
First image is a MoNsTeR!! It's drawing in energy, ready to explode. I should probably scan in the line drawing process of it...

Then a quickish little landscape. (A huge monster approaches, and the citizens of the town are fleeing!).

And during the weekend we went to the Dippemesse here in Frankfurt - a big funfair :) Here's me on one of the rides!

Cheers!

Quick over paint

2010-04-15T11:37:00.001+02:00

Ullo!
Just a quick over paint image.

Fear not, got a monster update coming :D

More environments

2010-04-09T18:22:00.006+02:00

Hiya!
Still on my quest to do better environments :) Gotta keep going with this, although definetely in the mood for some more monster drawings! First pic is from inside K Naut's ship. These I think might be the holding cells for any prisoners.

Next is a quickish afternoon pic. Just some dragons flying off for colder weather (getting too warm!):

Other than that, I'm still on my journey through Final Fantasy XIII. Finally made it to Gran Pulse...and haven't touched it for a week :s Gah!! Must finish though.

In other news, the game I've been working on has a nice new trailer out!! Finally a glimpse of the aliens!

Woo hoo! Can't wait for people to finally play this!

Quick animatic

2010-03-29T21:14:00.003+02:00

Heya!

Short little animatic I put together, just more practice really :) Both figures were based on 20 minute drawings. No idea what's on the paper he holds up, that's for you to decide ;)

I'm thinking the next animatic will involve spacecraft fighting or something :D I've been playing more FFXIII - the fighting system is much better, but the characters are still irritating. It's just all so melodramatic, I can't get into the story at all :/
Bye for now!

Speedy and life drawings

2010-03-18T19:54:00.002+01:00

Ullo!
A speedy testing out some of co-worker Maciej's new brushes :) A guy and his dog walking across a dry riverbed. Ignore the town!

2 more first person life drawings - the 1st drawn on an ICE train here in Deutschland, the 2nd in a kitchen!

In gaming news, I finished Mass Effect 2! Mordin died, NO IDEA how, but offscreen, no doubt in an undignified manner :( I felt gutted. Might just replay that whole scene (I of course made an alternate save before the whole end sequence!). Ahem, and I slept with Tali, as she'd made it that far with me, and stuck by me :)
Now onto Final Fantasy XIII, which at the moment pales in comparison to the mighty ME2. Auto battle? Only control 1 team mate? Using potions doesn't take a turn?? *Scoff* Final Fantasy for 5 year olds :( Despite all this negativity, I am of course going to play it to death.
Cheers!

Speed paint

2010-03-08T22:45:00.004+01:00

Heya!
Just a Sunday speed paint, trying to work on my environments still :)

Watching through Fringe for the first time, pretty creepy show!
Bye for now!

2 animatics and a pic

2010-03-05T18:39:00.004+01:00

Ullo all!
I decided to do some simple animatics! So there's no actual animation in them alas, didn't have the time (those are reserved for work which maybe I'll be able to show one day). The first is from the K Naut boards I posted earlier this year (the music is from Metroid Prime):

The second is the short tail of a young boy trying to summon a monster from a statue. It was drawn pretty quick, no shading or rendering or sound effects, just wanted to put it alongside the music (from Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea):

And a small underwater environment pic, which I'm practising more of:

Does anyone else find scanning planets in Mass Effect 2 tedious? Yet I must do it all!!
Bai!

more stuff

2010-03-01T18:42:00.006+01:00

Ullo!
Another new pic in my monster scribble series :) This here's a more fluffy one:

And my 3rd ZBrush piece, based on one of the previous scribble monsters in 2 posts below (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_xH8IZi8bYAs/S4QRNfoZE_I/AAAAAAAAAJA/B6kDuLVSw0c/s1600-h/scribble2+.jpg). It was my first time using Zspheres and creating my own textures from Photoshop :) All a learning experience!

Hahah it looks well dodgy now! It didn't seem that bad from the drawing...Obviously would have to change it in some way, add more tentacles down below...! So yeah, cool stuff, hope I'm improving!

2nd ZBrush attempt

2010-02-25T18:17:00.005+01:00

Ullo!
Quick update :) I thought I'd start learning ZBrush! It's such a cool and fun program - time flies when using it! So here is the second ever head I did (the first is very ehhh). I thought I'd do a dog instead.

Second head:

I can see stuff wrong, but I'll keep going with the program. No idea how to apply textures and stuff yet! Ok, off to Berlin for the weekend, cheers :)

Scribble monsters

2010-02-23T18:05:00.006+01:00

Ullo!
Some new drawings! Created using a fun technique: just draw a load of random shapes with a marker, flip the paper over, and pull out creatures from those shapes. It's a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon, and you'll find yourself creating stuff you would never normally pull from your head. So here are 2 of them (with more to come!):

Armoured underwater creature:

The bubbler:

And a speedpaint I did today (featuring K Naut):

I finally started Mass Effect 2 - Donut Shepard is back in action!! I'll try get a photo so you can see the gorgeous man in action ;)
Bye for now!

Helmets

2010-02-16T15:51:00.002+01:00

Ullo!
Helmet designs!

I finished Assassin's Creed 2 at long last! No achievement for getting Altair's costume though, oh the pain :( Now onto another sequel! (Oh and am playing Broken Sword on the DS, my first ever Broken Sword game!)

Tschus!

First person life drawing sketches

2010-02-12T13:15:00.005+01:00

Ullo!
Just some rough life drawing pics drawn in the past weekend or so here in Frankfurt. No idea why, but I have a weird fascination of drawing my trousers and feet. Same with taking photos! It's like I want to give you the impression this is exactly what I'm seeing.

Am playing through Assassin's Creed 2 still, though Bioshock 2 is winking at me alot :D Anxiously awaiting Mass Effect 2 in the post...what's with all the sequels? Love it!
Proper update soon, new boards!
Cheers!

Alien life cycle

2010-01-27T11:53:00.004+01:00

Ullo!
New art time! This here is the various stages of an alien's life. I was thinking of boarding up examples of each of its attack patterns (...yes, I've been playing/working with games for too long now :P).

Tschussy!